Sinn Féin Seanad spokesperson on Mental Health Senator Máire Devine has described the revelation that the HSE’s financial reporting systems do not provide for sub-specialty reporting as 'deeply concerning'.

This means that the HSE cannot isolate specific spend for CAMHS services, an area that is struggling to function after decades of neglect from the relevant State departments.

Senator Devine said;

“I am deeply concerned after PQs submitted by my colleague Pat Buckley TD revealed that there is such a stark lack of accountability for the funding, or rather lack thereof, for CAMHS. How can we possibly assess outcomes if we don’t even know our most basic of starting point?

"Only yesterday I wrote to the Minister with responsibility for mental health Jim Daly TD to outline my concerns of the omission of mental health and well-being statistics within the Healthy Ireland report - today I cannot believe that even more basic figures are unavailable.

"A further Parliamentary Question by Senator Devine revealed that the HSE also do not record how much of the CAMHS budget is spent on agency staff.

"This revelation outlines just one of the many serious problems resulting from the lack of recording of basic mental health finances.

“For all we know millions of euro could be thrown into the black hole of private health agency companies, which leaves the scrapings of pennies for investment in improving CAMHS services in the future.

"I will be bringing this up with the Minister next week when the Seanad resumes and I will also be forwarding these replies to my other colleagues on the Future of Mental Healthcare for further action to be taken.

"This issue is too important to be overlooked, to be let pass without repercussion. Our children, our most vulnerable children, deserve better.”